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1 – 10 of over 1000Julia V. Bondeli, Malena I. Havenvid and Hans Solli-Sæther
This paper aims to explore corrupt exchange as a type of socioeconomic interaction in private–public relationships and its effects on material flow in connected private-private…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore corrupt exchange as a type of socioeconomic interaction in private–public relationships and its effects on material flow in connected private-private relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a case study of a private–public network of an import firm in Russia. It focusses on corrupt exchange in routine interactions between the firm’s managers and officials in three regulatory authorities.
Findings
The study reveals how different types of corrupt exchange between firm managers, officials and intermediaries serve as a problem-solving tool that facilitates material flow through bureaucratic gates.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to the industrial marketing and purchasing research by showing how the social capital concept is useful for explicating mechanisms of socioeconomic interaction in business networks and how the interaction context conditions actors’ roles and interdependencies.
Practical implications
The paper raises practitioners’ awareness of corrupt exchange in business networks and enables them to anticipate and manage upcoming challenges in bureaucratic procedures.
Social implications
The study shows how networks’ non-transparent and manipulative tendencies may provide favourable conditions for corruption in the business landscape.
Originality/value
The study provides a unique empirical insight into the socioeconomic mechanisms of corrupt exchange in business networks. It contributes theoretically by conceptualising corrupt officials as taking on the role of quasi-business actors in the personal possession of administrative authority as a resource and by using a novel conceptualisation of social capital to study private–public interaction in business networks.
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Lisa Melander and Ala Pazirandeh Arvidsson
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a seller can use interactions to respond to public procurement needs for innovation when the buying side is restricted by public…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a seller can use interactions to respond to public procurement needs for innovation when the buying side is restricted by public procurement regulations.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data using qualitative semi-structured interviews of different empirical examples, in which private–public interactions of four different high-technological products are studied. Two products belong to the defence industry and two to the civil industry.
Findings
The findings point to three types of innovations in public procurement: product, service and business model. The empirical examples further indicate, as suggested in previous studies, that innovation is hindered by regulations that limit interaction between suppliers and the public. In addition, the empirical examples indicate that firms mobilize actors in their network when the buyer is restricted in regard to interaction. The findings also add to the IMP literature by comparing interactions in the three types of innovations in the public procurement context.
Originality/value
Public procurement is an area where innovations are lagging behind, compared with private procurement. Research points to limited interaction between actors as an obstacle to innovation in public sector collaborations. This paper extends the literature on how organizations interact in the setting of public procurement. The authors identify demand and supply triggers for three types of innovations: product, service and business model innovation.
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Lars-Gunnar Mattsson and Per Andersson
Contemporary public service innovations to an important degree are initiated and enabled by digitalization. Digitalization stimulates entry of new firms (start-ups) based on…
Abstract
Purpose
Contemporary public service innovations to an important degree are initiated and enabled by digitalization. Digitalization stimulates entry of new firms (start-ups) based on innovative implementation of digital technology for public services. The interwoven digitalization and innovation processes involve interaction and interdependencies between private business actors and public service providing actors. In this paper, the authors take the perspective of a start-up business actor that tries to develop and implement a viable business model in the very dynamic context of digital transformation of public education. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the instability of a startup firm’s business model during public service innovation can be explained. The research question is: “How can business modeling by a start-up firm be explained by tensions between its business model and public service provision models?”
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an abductive logic, the authors choose a single-case study of a start-up firm’s development in 2010-2018 and its interaction with public actors. Information about the firm acquired in the first phase of the study showed that it frequently changed its business model. A general analytical framework was developed to aid in efforts to answer the research question.
Findings
The case showed that a business model could be seen as a temporary outcome of a business modeling process, and that also concurrently public actors change their public actors’ service provisioning models. Public-private interaction reveals tensions that drive business modeling.
Originality/value
The study contributes to empirical knowledge about private-public interaction in the dynamic and complex context in which digital transformation in society drives public service innovations. The conceptual contribution rests more generally in the analytical framework and how it frames public actor’s “service provision modeling” as a driver of business modeling.
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Alexandra Waluszewski, Hakan Hakansson and Ivan Snehota
One of the most salient contemporary societal trends is the increasing amount of public–private collaborations. In spite of the increasing awareness of the need to scrutinise the…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the most salient contemporary societal trends is the increasing amount of public–private collaborations. In spite of the increasing awareness of the need to scrutinise the promises of public–private partnership (PPP), there is an important but seldom-asked question: How does the assumed interaction pattern behind PPP correspond with the interaction pattern appearing in empirical studies of the content of business exchange? The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the discrepancy between the expected and actual pattern of interactions in PPPs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a specific PPP concerning the construction of a Nya Karolinska (NKS) hospital building, which ended up as an economic and functional disaster. With an interactive approach as point of departure (Håkansson et al. 2009; Waluszewski, Håkansson, Snehota, 2017), this paper investigates a) the interaction pattern of the business landscape expected by policy/politicians in the NKS construction case and b) how the assumed interaction pattern appears in relation to the interaction pattern of the business landscape outlined in empirical studies of exchange, in the business landscape in general and of the construction setting in particular.
Findings
Given that the public side is neglecting the interactivity and interdependency of the private business setting, the disappointment with the NKS PPP project does not appear as an odd deviation. Rather, as a natural consequence of a public side expecting autonomous actors able to deliver innovation, quality and cost control just because they are exposed to competitive forces – but in reality interfacing with private actors which interests are directed to interdependent investments in place; own and related suppliers’.
Research limitations/implications
The investigation of the political expectations behind the NKS PPP case was concentrated on two types of data. Original reports expressing the political view of the interaction pattern of the private setting have been used. Four published studies focussing on different aspects of the NKS process, which discuss the political view of the private setting, was also used.
Practical implications
Be it private–private or public–private, to be beneficial for both sides of the exchange interface, both sides have to engage in the exchange – with representatives with knowledge and experiences of all direct and indirect related social and material resources that will be affected. The need to mobilise and involve representatives with extensive experiences of specific resource combinations of both sides of the exchange interface; the public as well as the private, does not disappear simply because it is assumed away.
Social implications
The competitive forces of the private setting are by politicians and policy assumed to function in an automatic way; breeding cost efficiency, quality and innovation. Furthermore, there is also an assumption of speed and ease of change. With the trust in these characteristic sof the private setting at hand, politicians have a “cart blanche” to withdraw from direct involvement in the creation of producer-user interfaces.
Originality/value
The paper underlines that as soon as the public-private exchange concerns goods that cannot be transformed to or treated as homogeneous ‘commodities’, as most often is the case of in this type of processes, there are reasons to be extremely careful in the design of the interaction interface. There are differences both in resource and activity structures between the two sides of the exchange interface and these differences have to be actively dealt with.
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The outlook for private healthcare.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB235625
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Geographic
Topical
To test the effect of public‐private collaboration on research quality in the UK biotechnology industry.
Abstract
Purpose
To test the effect of public‐private collaboration on research quality in the UK biotechnology industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Development of an economic model suggesting that collaboration results in learning gains that lead to higher quality research and subsequently testing of this model using unique data from the UK biotechnology sector from 1988‐2001.
Findings
Collaborative research does indeed improve research quality, although the nature of the biotech firm in question seems to be an important factor in determining how strongly positive an effect public‐private collaboration has on research quality.
Originality/value
Shows that there exists a growing body of work that points to the increasing value of public‐private interaction for the performance and growth of high technology science‐based firms and industries. However, research on the effects of this interaction on the resulting quality of scientific output is scarce.
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Florencia Jaureguiberry and Mariano Tappata
The purpose of this paper is to understand the sustained growth of sweet cherry exports in recent years in Argentina and to what extent the coordination mechanisms between public…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the sustained growth of sweet cherry exports in recent years in Argentina and to what extent the coordination mechanisms between public and private institutions can explain the growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The research method used in the paper is descriptive and based on in-depth interviews with producers, agencies and institutions from the cherry industry. Qualitative results are complemented with analysis of key market data.
Findings
The sweet cherry industry in Argentina underwent a shake up with entry of new vertically integrated players and the technological upgrade of traditional producers that resulted in an export boom. The transformation of the industry was induced by the global market conditions and, more importantly, the promotion and complementarities achieved through a strong public–private partnership. Despite the constant increase in global demand for counter-season cherries, exports from Argentina are currently struggling to sustain growth. Among various bottlenecks, the authors find the instability of government policies (e.g. labor law, tax system, economic and trade policies) as the main cause for the slowdown in investment and expansion of the planted area.
Research limitations/implications
The paper highlights the importance of understanding the growth process of an industry and the different ways in which public and private sectors can enhance export performance. The relationship between the success of private–public partnerships and the particular configuration and characteristics of the industry deserve further study. The usual limitations from single-case studies apply.
Originality/value
The study has two contributions. First, the study uncovers the economics underlying the development and configuration of the sweet cherry industry in Argentina. Second, the study documents a successful case of private–public partnership to boost exports and reach new markets.
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Geoffrey T. Stewart, Ramesh Kolluru and Mark Smith
As noted in the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework, disasters are inherently local and ultimately the responsibility of the lowest jurisdictional level…
Abstract
Purpose
As noted in the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Framework, disasters are inherently local and ultimately the responsibility of the lowest jurisdictional level present within the impacted area. Given these parameters, this paper aims to sharpen the concept of national resilience by recommending a framework which positions community resilience as an integral variable in understanding the ability of impacted areas to effectively manage the consequences of disasters. Conceptualized as a dependent variable, community resilience is influenced by the relationships government (public) agencies develop with private sector partners and the resilience of relevant supply chains and critical infrastructures/key resources which exist in their communities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors augment a topical literature review of academic and practitioner journals by synthesizing existing findings into a holistic framework of community resilience.
Findings
This paper argues that interdependent systems like social and economic networks will ultimately influence the ability of communities to adapt and respond to the consequences of disasters. In addressing the resilience of these systems, all levels of government must recognize and embrace the public‐private interfaces that can improve their ability to manage the response and recovery phases of disaster management. While 85 percent of critical infrastructure is owned by the private sector, 100 percent of it exists within communities and impacts the ability of the nation to recover from disasters. Resilience calls upon active management and relies upon assessment and a willingness to take action in the face of adversity.
Originality/value
Resilience is discussed within economics, behavioral sciences, supply chain management and critical infrastructure protection. This paper integrates these research streams to develop a framework for shaping national resilience.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the entrepreneurial behaviour of small tourism businesses and their ability to contribute to regional development in the context of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the entrepreneurial behaviour of small tourism businesses and their ability to contribute to regional development in the context of a transitional economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The research, by combining in‐depth interviews and a survey, reports on a case study of Wairarapa, a region of New Zealand that has recently seen a large expansion in the tourism sector.
Findings
The paper identifies a number of important criteria for the effective interaction of private‐public sectors as well as illustrating how small tourism firm owners are facing challenges in one of the most liberal economic environments whilst taking action to ensure periphery endurance.
Originality/value
Inductive theory or a bottom‐up model for regional development provides the conceptual structure for the research. The paper argues that the related paradigm is increasingly underpinned by entrepreneurial behaviour of a multiplicity of stakeholders in rural localities where tourism is seen as a key agent for regional rejuvenation on the demise of traditional economic activities.
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Serena Masino, Nadia Laura von Jacobi and Mavis Akuffobea-Essilfie
This paper aims to investigate the governance of labour standards in the less-studied yet rapidly globalising Ghanaian construction sector. While incorporation into international…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the governance of labour standards in the less-studied yet rapidly globalising Ghanaian construction sector. While incorporation into international production networks generates several opportunities for workers, the drivers of adverse incorporation originate at multiple levels of analysis. The study offers an investigation into such drivers and their interconnections.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilise a multi-scalar framework and mixed methods of analysis. Both the qualitative and multi-level quantitative analyses rely on a primary dataset collected among 30 firms and 304 respondents, through semi-structured interviews.
Findings
A composite yet unbalanced labour standards governance configuration emerges, where the absence of social governance combined with a weak role of the State leaves labour standards subject to the variegated landscape of firms' embeddedness in the sector.
Originality/value
The construction industry is acquiring ever-increasing relevance in the economic trajectory of Ghana as well as that of several other African economies, not least for its large employment generation potential. Research on the governance of labour standards in the sector is, however, largely missing. The authors argue that labour incorporation dynamics represent a complex under-investigated regulatory challenge as well as a policy-making priority. The analysis is one of the first to offer a reconstruction of the governance landscape determining the challenges workers face in the Ghanaian construction sector, from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective.
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